Drip-catching attachment for bottles



Dec. 20, 1932. I J. P|PK|N 1,891,892

DRIP CATCHING ATTACHMENT FOR BOTTLES Filed Oct. 11. 1929 2 Sheets-Sheet l IN VEN TOR.

m. BY g W' Dec. 20, 1932. T J. A. PlPKlN 1,891,892

DRIP CATCHING ATTACHMENT FOR BOTTLES Filed Oct. 11, 1929 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 rd 1 W 7' FOI D HERE IN-V NTOR. J 9m 0M BY Z M W -mi Patented Dec. 20, 1932 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE JAKE A. PIPKIN, 01 DALLAS, TEXAS, ASSIGNOR TO NO-DBIP COMPANY, 01' DALLAS, TEXAS DRIP-CATGHING ATTACHMENT FOR BOTTLES Application filed October 11, 1929. Serial No. 399,034.

My invention relates to drip-catching attachments for bottles, and to a method of forming the same, and has particular reference to an improved wrapper or protector 5 adapted to envelope the lower portion of a bottle to catch and absorb the moisture and drippin s which run down the exterior surface oft ebottle.

At soda fountains, soft drink stands and roadside refreshment booths, and other places where iced, bottled refreshments or beverages are dispensed, it is well recognized that considerable annoyanci? is frequently caused by the moisture which collects upon the exterior surface of the iced bottle, which moisture trickles down the sides of the bottles and eventually drips from the lower edge of the same onto the person or clothing of the customer. Not only does this. moisture cause the soiling and spotting of the customers clothing, but it also results in the soiling and wetting of the customers hand, and, due to the insecure gripping surface afforded by wet glass, the bottles are frequently dropped by slipping from the hands of the customer.

In order to overcome these objections, the dispensers or retailers of these iced, bottled beverages frequently find it necessary to wipe off or dry the bottles after they have been withdrawn from the refrigerator or iced container, in order to place a dry, drip-free bottle in the hands of the customer. This procedure has not proved to be a satisfactory solution for the prevention of accumulated moisture and the subsequent dripping of the moisture onto the clothing or person of the customer, and, aside from the time and inconvenience occasioned by the wiping or drying of the bottle, moisture soon accumulates due to the contact of the cold bottle with the relatively warm air, and even thoughthe bottle is relatively dry and drip-free when handed to the customer, it soon sweats" and drips onto the clothing or person of the customer.

In order to remedy the unsatisfactory condition referred to above, I perfected an improved hottle protector on which I was granted Letters Patent under 1,632,347 dated June 50 14, 1927, and the present invention may be considered as an improvement on the device therein set forth and claimed.

It is an object of my present invention to provide a drip-catching attachment for hottles which is cheap and easy to manufacture, which may be readily applied to the bottle after it has been withdrawn from the refrigerator or iced receptacle, and which, by my improved method or sequence of simple operations, may be formed into a cup-like wrapper or protector covering the lower portion of the bottle and the bottom thereof, to afford a dry gripping surface for the customers hand, and to catch and absorb any accumulated moisture, to thus prevent the same from dripping onto the clothing or person of the customer to whom, the iced bottle has been served.

It is a further object of my present invention to provide a simple envelope or wrapper which may be made and dispensed in flat or folded condition and which, because of its simple, flat form, is well adapted to have advertising or other matter printed thereon to adapt the same for use as an advertising medium, this flat envelope or wrapper being subsequently opened up to tubular form, slipped downwardly over the wet bottle until an appreciable portion of its length extends below the bottom of the bottle, this overhang ing portion being subsequently folded in and crushed down to cover the bottom of the bottle to thus form a cup-shaped wrapper or protector covering the lower portion of the bottle and forming a cushioning bottom cover.

It is a still further objection of my present invention to provide a novel form of envelope or wrapper which can be easily opened up to tubular form, slipped downwardly over the upper end of the wet bottle until an appreciable portion of the Wrapper extends below the bottom of the bottle, and this overhanging portion subsequent-1y folded in and crushed down to cover the bottom of the bottle, the said envelope or Wrapper being provided with an indicating line or other indicia to advise the dispenser of the distance the wrapper must extend below the bottom edge of the bottle to provide the proper amount of material to completely cover the bottom surface 1 of the bottle after this overhanging portion is folded in and crushed down.

A still further object of my present invention is to provide an envelope or wrapper of 5 the above mentioned character which is cheap and easy to manufacture, convenient to dispense, simple to apply to the bottle, and highly eflicient in the purposes for which desi ned.

In the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification:

Figure 1 is a side elevation showing my improved wrapper about to be applied to a ottle;

Fig. 2 is a side elevation showing the second step in the formation of the wrapper or protector, said step consisting in the preliminary folding-in of the overhanging portion adjacent the bottom of the bottle;

Fig. 3 is a side elevation showing the third step in the formation of the wrapper or protector, said step consisting in the placing of the bottle on a counter or other flat surface to crush the folded-in portion of the wrapper into contact with the bottom of the bottle;

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the bottle and its associated wrapper showing thecompletely formed cup-shaped wrapper or protector applied to the bottle ready to be dispensed to the customer;

Fig. 5 is a plan view of the wrapper, and,

Fig. 6 is a sectional view on the l1ne 66 of Fig. 5.

Referring to the drawings, wherein is shown a preferred embodiment of my invention, and wherein like numerals are employed to designate like parts throughout the several views, the numeral 1 designates the envelope or wrapper which may be made of relatively cheap paper, cloth, or any other su table flexible material, preferably materlal having moisture-absorbing properties. Th1s wrapper can be conveniently made on a bag or envelope machine of any conventional or well known construction, which will sever the web of paper or other material into suitable lengths, fold the sides of the blank inwardly, and seal the adjacent edges to form a flat tube open at both ends, it being noted that the blanks are so cut or severed that the top edge 2 of the back of the folded or fiat tube extends above the top edge 3 of the front of the tube, and the bottom edge 4 of the front of the tube extends below the bottom edge 5 of the back of the tube, as clearly shown in Figs. 5 and 6 of the drawings. ThlS method of cutting the upper and lower edges of the wrapper is of considerable importance, as the upstanding edge 2 at the top of the wrapper can be readily engaged by the dispensers finger to assist in opening the wrapper from its fiat form to an open or substantially tubular form as shown in Fig. 1 of the drawin s. The depending edge 4 at the bottom of t 1e wrapper can be readily engaged by the neck of the bottle to assist in more completely opening up the lower portion of the wrapper to tubular form and to initially guide the wrapper onto the bottle.

Near the lower portion of the front face of the wrapper or protector, I print or otherwise apply an indicating line 6 and associate with this indicating line such instructions as fold here or other instructions to indicate to the dispenser the approximate distance that the wrapper should extend below the bottom of the bottle, it being noted that the distance between the indicating line 6 and the lower edges 4 and 5 is approximately equal to one-half the diameter of the bottom of the bottle to which the wrapper is applied, so that when this overhanging portion is folded in, it will completely cover the bottom .of the bottle. The presence of this indicating line 6 and its proper positioning relative to the diameter of the bottom of the bottle, is of considerable importance, for without this line or other form of indicating mark, it would be necessary for the dispenser to guess at the distance the wrapper or protector should extend below the bottom of the bottle in order to completely and neatly cover the bottom thereof. If the overhanging portion was too great, that is if the wrapper extended too far below the bottom of the bottle, a smooth bottom could not be formed and the excess material would form a lump which would prevent the bottle from setting firmly on a counter, tray or other flat surface; whereas if the overhanging portion was too short, that is if the wrapper did not extend far enough below the bottom of the bottle, the folded-in portion of the wrapper would not be suflicient to cover the bottom of the bottle, and, hence, an enclosing, cupshaped wrapper would not be formed.

Referring now to the use of the wrapper just described and to the steps of the method by which said wrapper is applied to the bottle and mani ulated to form the cupshaped drip-catching and moisture-absorbing wrapper or protector, the dispenser removes an iced bottle 7 from the ice receptacle 8 and uncaps the same by means of any well known instrument provided for this purpose. He then inserts his index and second nger into the top or upper edge of the wrapper between the edges 2 and 3 and by spreading these two fingers apart, causes the previously-flat wrapper to assume an open or substantially tubular form, as clearly shown in Fig. 1. The open wrapper is then moved down over the wet bottle until the lower edge of the wrapper extends beyond the bottom of the bottle a distance approxi mately equal to the distance between the indicating mark 6 and the bottom edge of the wrapper, thus insuring the proper amount of overhanging material to form the complete bottom closure. He then folds the overhanging portion of the wrapper inwardly as shown in Fig. 2, and then places the bottle on a counter or other flat surface, preferably exerting a slight downward pressure on the bottle to more firmly fold or crush the folded-in portion to form the bot tom. It has been found that due to the moisture on the bottle and the moistureabsorbing properties of the material from which the wrapper or protector is made, the inturned bottom portion will remain flat against the bottom portion of the bottle after the preliminary folding as shown in Fig. 2 and the final pressing or crushing operation as shown in Fig. 3. The iced bottle is now ready for delivery to the customer, who grasps the bottle and can safely proceed with the drinking of the contents without etting his hand wet or soiled and without ear of getting his clothes or his person soiled or spotted by the dripping of the moisture from the bottle.

Due to the relatively cheap material from which the wrapper is constructed, the wrapper can be economically discarded and destroyed after the contents of the bottle has been consumed, and, due to the desirability of such a wrapper or protector and its widespread use, it is at once apparent that the wrapper provides a very efficient and economical advertising medium by means of which the particular soft drink dispensed can be advertised or by means of which any commodity or service can be brought to the attention of the public. These wrappers can be furnished to the soda fountain, soft drink stands and refreshment booths in convenient packages, and can be conveniently retained and dispensed in a form of dispensing cabinet forming the subject matter of my copending application Serial Number 399,033, filed on even date herewith.

It is to be understood that the form of my invention herein shown and described is to be taken as a preferred embodiment of the same and that various changes may be made comprising a normally flat, open ended wrapper having opposed walls, a portion of one edge of one wall ex ending above a portion of the edge of the opposed wall at one end of the wrapper, the opposed wall having a portion of one edgethereof extending below a portion of the edge of the first wall at the other end of the wrapper, the extending portions of the walls assisting in opening the wrapper from flat to tubular form to be sli ped overabottle.

n witness whereof, we have hereunto set signature. 7

JAMES A. PIPKIN.

in the shape, size and method of manipulation, without departing from the spirit of my invention or the scope of the subjoined claims.

Having thus described my invention, I 

